MB trustee says proposed dog ordinance unconstitutional

by Jason Futch
Published 9/16/26

The Morse Bluff Village Board of Trustees met for its regular meeting on Sept. 8. During the meeting, board trustee Sandy Vosler shared his thoughts on the proposed ordinance that would govern dogs, saying that it would cost the village more money and was also “overstepping liberties.”

The ordinance was one of two that were tabled at the meeting, the other being a proposed rewrite of an ordinance regarding compost.

When it came time to talk about the proposed ordinance on dogs “running at-large,” Vosler said most of the proposed ordinance was already governed by the state, and he was concerned it would violate the personal freedoms of village residents.

“There’s a lot of language in here with leashing and a 10-year-old having to walk a dog,” he said. “This isn’t Nazi Germany. We’re not going to tell an 8-year-old they can’t walk their dog down the street. I won’t get behind it.”

He added that the ordinance would be a violation of the fifth amendment (protecting citizens from government overreach) and the 14th amendment (right to due process). Vosler further said that even if the amendment passed, there was no one to police it, not even the county.

“We have one bad actor in town and his dog bit someone,” he said. “We can’t immediately jump to punish the rest of the town for one person’s action.”

Trustee Randy Kremlacek said the language being proposed had been AI-generated, but that most of what was being proposed did not generally affect the village. He added for the most part, the village was more interested in changing the fines in relation to the violations.

Village clerk Stephanie Gabel said that fining someone involves sending the violation to the village attorney who then sends it to the county court. At the end of the process, the money from the fines does not go back to the village.

Vosler said that because most of the regulations are governed by the county and/or state, he believes that adopting the ordinance was going to bring in a “whole lot of liability” to the village.

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